wopachop

Hi everyone new here. Im a big fan of the outdoors and joined this site hoping to gain knowledge on trail cameras.

We live off a dirt road in the high desert of southern california. The local scum seem to think its better do dump loads of trash off our road instead of paying for the landfill.

Its always been a problem but the past 6 months its getting outta control. Someone is starting to dump their marijuana grow operation and my girlfriends kids are finding bags of soil and random grow stuff and so im drawing the line there. I dont have a problem with marijuana but i do have a problem with them dumping trash. We have tried calling the "we tip" dumping hotline for years. It does nothing. I called and reported the marijuana stuff. Still sitting there 4 months later. Unfortunately they just dont have enough time or man power or whatever to deal with it.

So my goal is to set up a trail camera and hopefully have enough detail during the nighttime to read the license plate. Ideal would be something with a solar panel to keep from buying batteries. It has to be very stealth with no lights or flash or anything. Also im not super rich im really hoping i can find a used one. Maybe this site has a classifieds.

Can anyone give me the specs on these things? I imagine the technology has changed quite a bit over the years. Do they have a good enough picture quality to zoom in and read a license plate taken at night from say 15' away? The dirt road has 6-8' tall shrubs i can easily hide the camera in.

Another concern is how quick would the memory card get filled up. Roughly 50 cars drive by a day.

Thanks for any advice!

PastorJim08

Here you go. Not cheap but the only trailcam I know of that will capture a license plate at 50mph.

http://www.reconyx.com/hyperfire.php?model=SC&id=96

Blessings........Pastorjim

littlearrow

wopachop: Viewing the link submitted by PastorJim08, my choice would be the SM750 Hyperfire. Hyperfire cameras have had good reviews. They are a very expensive camera. According to their submitted video clips, this is what one requires for anything court case.
A few tips on camera setup: 1)Do not face east or west into the rising or setting sun as you can get red or white outs caused by over exposure. 2)Trim any branches or foliage in the imediate area as this can give false triggers (random pictures) if windy. 3)Format your card in your computer before use unless using a new card. Using a card in a digital camera changes something in the software or file system so that the camera can not acknowledge the card. 4)Use a good brand of SD card (SanDisk, Adapta, Lexar or Verbatim) that is compatible with the camera. Using an SD card where the GB size (2, 4, 8 etc.) is too large, the camera can not recognize it. 5)Good quality batteries (test with a digital meter). Even new batteries fresh out of the package may have a faulty one. Any battery reading 1.0 to 1.2 volt, the camera will not function properly, or not at all. Best of luck in your choice.

wopachop

Thanks for the link and tips i will check it out.

The dirt road is not maintained and has curves. You have to do either 5mph or 50mph to keep from shaking the truck to pieces.

I haul ass down it sometimes. But i imagine the dumpers in the middle of the night trying to stay quiet would be doing no more than 10mph max. They prolly crawl in with lights off. Dump super fast then haul butt out.

Hopefully i dont need such a high quality of camera. At the very least if i can get pictures of the trucks dumping i could post flyers all around town. We have those community mail boxes so 1 flyer at the mailbox area will be seen by hundreds. Also i want to post signs as you exit onto our dirt road with pictures and warnings about dumping.

Thanks again for the advice!!

timmyzimmy

I agree with both PastorJim and littlearrow. There's nothing out there really to compete with those 2 higher end Reconyx. Everything else will have the Blurrrrrrrr even at 10 mph in IR. I don't own one but if it says it will catch a plate at 50 mph, I'd bet it does. Their rep is so good, I'd also bet you would get a refund if its doesn't do as advertised.

I just watched the sample video from the link... WOW. That is pretty amazing. The SM750 Demo vid has made me a believer.

Man, just shows ya the crap we buy from the box stores. And yes, I can buy 3 of mine for 1 of those. But I'm not trying to catch a plate.

Good Luck

GTOHunter

You could look at the Moultrie M-80 Black Flash trail camera,it suppose to have a flash at night that is un- detectable then set it to take the streaming video during the day time and pictures at night!Go to www.chasingame.com to read the reviews on it.If You can set the camera up at the sight they dump the trash maybe You could get a decent license plate picture if they are slowing down?

Another Camera to consider is the Uway UM-562 I believe....it takes a picture and sends it to Your cell phone, that might help You catch them also?

wopachop

Hello and thanks again for the advice!!!

Any new products on the market that can take decent pictures at night with zero flash?

Also can anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy? Maybe there are some awesome holiday sales going on?

We got hit again several times. Kickin myself for not buying a camera yet.

gamsmith

Yes just look for a camera brand claiming black flash. Ex. Moultrie Black Flash. They have and infrared flash that is completely undetectable by our eyes. Great for what you need.